Where is your line?

Like many I have encountered along the way, the question of how much is enough has become a common thread of conversations pertaining to stewardship, philanthropy, tithing and generosity.

My recent trip to the Q conference in LA provided helpful insight. If the goal is to learn to not live in excess of generosity, then determining the line of "enough" is necessary.

I really appreciated the challenge presented by Jeff Shinabarger, Founder of GiftCardGiver.com: "Is generosity possible in an age of self?"

In a culture that successfully convinces us that we always need to have more, it is important for us to learn to shed the excess of our lives. Imagine the continuum of suffering, enough and excess. We can more easily assess the difference between want and need when we realize that “want” is anything greater than enough, and “need” those things that reduce our suffering and bring us closer to the line of enough.

When we choose to live with less, we stop living in excess of generosity and we stop the cycle of want more, spend more, get more.

Experience matters more than acquiring.

A really lovely experience just two weeks ago; listening to a younger man express gratefulness for how blessed he is. In contrast to a culture of entitlement, this experience stands out as one of the top fund raising stories of the past 7 years. After completing medical school, residency and landing in a spot just right for him, he chooses to impact the lives of others similar to him before acquiring the new home and starting the family. Not sure who had greater joy that day; the giver or the listener? 

Is there an app for that?

Remember the school days when the guest speaker came to give a care-for-the-earth pep talk? That’s when I started turning off the water while brushing my teeth and feeling guilty for long showers. Conserving water is a good thing; it’s environmentally conscious and it fosters responsible stewardship. The pep talk gave us the awareness and motivation we needed to take action in this area.

My wife and I recently purchased an ’09 Camry, complete with onscreen monitoring of our gas usage. While traveling through the city and down the highway, this vehicle records and reports our usage. My driving habits have been significantly impacted by this immediate feedback—my acceleration has slowed, I roll to a stop far in advance, and I find myself setting the cruise control lower. The feedback (and subsequent personal goal setting) has had an amazing influence on my driving. I’m conserving fuel like never before, and I’m highly motivated to increase my miles per gallon with every new tank.

It makes me wonder: What if there was an app for my stewardship of God’s abundance to me? If my iPhone recorded my daily efforts at sharing my wealth, would that awareness make me more motivated? And is this motivation the appropriate motivation?

The end results of my changed driving habits are positive in so many ways, carrying me another step in learning to manage God’s abundance to me. Overall, I like this modern day shift in consciousness towards stewardship. How about you?

Revealing contrast speaks volumes

The Widow’s Offering
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times
Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” Luke 21:1-6 (NIV)

A Lenten commitment brings me into the book of Luke this season. A previously unnoticed contrast struck me recently: The story of the widow's mite is set in the temple grounds. Jesus observed the sacrifice of the widow giving all she had, and next we read of the disciples asking about the beauty that adorns the temple. Jesus' response is to talk of the destruction of such things and to encourage them to not be deceived.

Deceived by what? The false security of comforts that come and go and quickly fade? The impression that wealth provides safety, security, protection and evidence of “rich” faith?

Jesus knew the widow's heart; her motivation was the love she had for her God. She had no fear, reminding me of 1 John 4:18, which says there is no fear in love—perfect love drives out fear.

Do I have the love exemplified by the widow, or do I hold tightly to what will fade away? Do I have the courage to live like the widow? Am I willing to give all I have with no worry about tomorrow? These are questions I can carry with me throughout Lent, and beyond.

Ramsey: Only part of the story

Prior to my oldest getting married more than eight years ago, my wife and I provided tickets for our four children to attend a Dave Ramsey presentation. Each child was nearing the years when they would be managing their own accounts and moving out of the house, and our hope was to have them begin the good practices of budgeting and a commitment to debt-free living.

The presentation illuminated several good points about establishing wise habits in personal finance. At the conclusion of the event, a personal testimony was given, which included the assertion that young people should not go into debt for college tuition.

I was uncomfortable at the time and have since come to realize why I thought the example was problematic: The "pay as you go mantra" was based on a false assumption. For Ramsey, the college education is about the degree; the piece of paper at the end of the four years that helped you get a job, not about the life formation of thinking and character that develops during the college years.

In the past two weeks, several conversations with students and graduates have solidified my thoughts. Students shared with me the life-changing experiences and formation of character that took place during their time in Christian college. Vocation became about everyday life and choices; not just the job.

College education choices also have to be about stewardship of the mind and heart; developing both to full potential. Choosing an institution of higher education should not be based solely on the question: "Where can I go to gain a degree and remain debt-free"?

If a career is, as I believe, more about learning to live daily in fulfillment than getting a paycheck at the end of the month, then perhaps the education that prepares you for that career should be based on more than the degree at the end of your studies. 

The “O” word

Four years ago a seed was planted by a friend of Calvin College!

A conversation began standing around a kitchen counter—sharing, praying, celebrating God's abundance. It was then I learned of the Stewardship Bible; now a daily part of my life. Years of disciplined reading the scriptures because it was a good habit has turned into eager anticipation of "what do YOU have for me today?" 

Reading the scriptures from a perspective of stewardship has made me familiar with the Greek word "Oikonomia." It is the root of the word for economy. More than that, it is a word that means "managing a household." All that is entrusted to me demands my faithful attention, my intentional watch of detail, my purposeful accountability. I like to think of all these perspectives as definition to the task I am called to, a task we are believers are all called to, that of stewardship.

Oikonomia was chosen with intention as the subject of this blog. Let's travel this road together. Enjoy, respond, change, adapt and join me on this journey of understanding stewardship. Those who know me know of my love for adventure; this journey is not for the weak of heart.